SOURCES SOUGHT
B -- Software development for the maintenance of NIMH Cortex experimental control
- Notice Date
- 8/17/2016
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541511
— Custom Computer Programming Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Station Support/Simplified Acquisitions, 31 Center Drive, Room 1B59, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20892
- Solicitation Number
- HHS-NIH-NIDA-SSSA-SBSS-16-707
- Archive Date
- 9/9/2016
- Point of Contact
- Farrin Stanton, , ,
- E-Mail Address
-
farrin.stanton@nih.gov, farrin.stanton@nih.gov
(farrin.stanton@nih.gov, farrin.stanton@nih.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- INTRODUCTION This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources, (2) whether they are small businesses; HUBZone small businesses, service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. This notice is issued to help determine the availability of qualified companies technically capable of meeting the Government requirement and to determine the method of acquisition. It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotes. No award will be made as a result of this notice. The Government will NOT be responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice. The notice is strictly for research and information purposes only. The information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a small business social-economic set-aside, competitive or non-competitive method is possible, and to determine the availability of qualified companies technically capable of meeting the Government's requirement. ALL organizations with the capability and availability to perform the requirement under the applicable NAICS code are invited to submit a response to this notice. NORTH AMERICAN CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE 541511 CUSTOM COMPUTER PROGRAMMING SERVICES The National Institute of Mental Health, Laboratory of Neuropsychology, requires software development for the maintenance of NIMH Cortex experimental control and data acquisition software suite, and the transition to and further development of MonkeyLogic experimental control and data acquisition software. The maintenance component the requested is to make NIMH Cortex, originally a DOS program, operate smoothly and reliably under the Windows 7 operating system. Over the past two years, much of work has been done to achieve Windows 7 compatibility. The is still some work is to complete Windows 7 capability for both 32-bit and 64-bit installations and to finish building the testing tools so that NIMH Cortex can be compiled using the latest Microsoft software development environment. The development component of the requested is to extend the compatibilities of MonkeyLogic (ML) (http://www.brown.edu/Research/monkeylogic/) to support the hardware and software that are essential to many of the current NIMH Cortex users. Because both NIMH Cortex and MonkeyLogic collect data and respond to recorded events within real-time requirements, the task of expanding MonkeyLogic is a challenging and delicate one that requires expertise at enough levels to assure safe and reliable program performance. Thus, another requirement is the development of reliable and robust performance that will not put the data acquired by monkey laboratories at risk for errors. This past year major steps have been taken support functionality for a primate touchscreen interface, and beta testing has begun with ~5 laboratories (McGill, Vanderbilt, Mount Sinai, Oxford, and NYU). This work also facilitates the integration of additional digital input devices such as joysticks, modern eye trackers, and other instruments that transmit their signal over USB. Significant upgrades to the video stimulus rendering system have been made. The low-level data acquisition system within ML has been completely rebuilt. As with graphics, data acquisition, has been brought up to date and as a result is significantly faster, samples from a wider array of DAQ devices, and is far less expensive for new users to setup. Our latest release of ML has cut the cost of hardware dramatically thanks to the new "NIMH DAQ toolbox" by as much as 33% by eliminating the need for 2x daq cards and Matlab daq toolbox licensing fees. All ML source code modifications along with documentation, have been incrementally posted online in an open source repository called GitHub.com. Specifically, the url of our repository is: https://github.com/ryklin/MonkeyLogic_stable. This makes it simple for users and developers to review, contribute, clone, and use the program. The official MonkeyLogic website's download page now directs users to download exclusively and directly from this repository, making it the official distribution. Develop and maintain a user support forum to exclusively handle MonkeyLogic users: There are 87 Members registered, consisting of at least 22 unique laboratories in the United States. There have been 529 posts in a little over a year. This compliments the previous user forum exclusively for NIMH-Cortex users, which also has about the same (78) registered members. This allows the programmer to prioritize bug reports and focus on any major concerns addressed by existing users. Identify and fix improper program operation (bugs) using both software and hardware techniques while maintaining a bug tracking database: We have started identifying beta testers for the last releases of ML. Testing will identify inconsistencies in the operation of the newest versions. These bugs will be the basis of a work-prioritized list of issues based on impact and frequency. Clearly identified issues will be studied and fixed. After each bug fix release, the software will be returned to the beta testers for approval. New releases of the software will require additional testing and final approval from the project manager (Dr. Mitz). Document all changes both internally (within the programming code) and in user documentation: ML programs are documented internally using best practices of the industry. User documentation will be maintained in both manual and web site formats. Major new features will be advertised in emails and posted on the web site. A history of changes will be maintained. New support programs will be documented either by adding chapters to existing manuals or through the introduction of new manuals. All manuals will be posted on the documentation page of the web site. Version information will be explicitly indicated on each manual as it is updated. Maintain open source code and use a modern source code repository: All source code for NIMH Cortex and ML must be openly available. Development must be done using a source code repository that permits tracking development. Support for new device drivers: Over the past several years the number of hardware cards supported by NIMH Cortex has been expanded through the software development s. This contract requires continued support of these new drivers. Drivers must not interfere with the real-time performance of the experimental control or data acquisition operations. Drivers will not interfere with the stability of the operating system (DOS or Windows). Drivers must continue to operate under a wide range of conditions to validate their performance. Provide user technical support by web, email and telephone: User technical support is a key requirement. Technical support will be in the form of web support on the NIMH Cortex and ML web site, answering questions and collecting bug reports. Technical support will also be in the form of email, and, when necessary, telephone (or voice over IP) support. Continued transition from NIMH Cortex to MonkeyLogic transition: It is essential to bridge the gap between the capabilities of new MonkeyLogic program and the capabilities of the more mature NIMH Cortex program. Major new features are required, like support for touch screens. This requirement is the most demanding, because it requires an understanding of NIMH Cortex, its users, the internal working of MonkeyLogic, and experience with behavioral neurophysiology experimental programs, in general. Additional steps include the implementation of a programming thread for storing hand position. Consolidate several versions to make it easier for users to know which version to install. Finally, the multiple versions of ML. Integrate the use of Matlab Data Acquisition Toolboxes (e.g. make Matlab fast enough to run ML) to make ML viable for the foreseeable future. The requested will investigate a replacement from Matlab graphics. At present Matlab graphics may prohibit presenting certain kinds of visual stimuli. The roadmap must reflect the abilities of both software packages and the needs of NIMH Cortex users as well as increase the transition to ML. Period of Performance: The base period of performance shall be one year from notice of award. CAPABILITY STATEMENT INFORMATION SOUGHT Respondents must provide, as part of their responses, clear and convincing documentation of their capability of providing the item(s) specified in this notice. Contractors that believe they possess the ability to provide the required must submit specific documentation of their ability to meet each of the project requirements to the Contract Specialist. Contractors must provide their Company Name, DUNS number, Physical Address, and Point of Contact Information. Interested organizations are required to identify their type of business, applicable North American Industry Classification System Code, and size standards in accordance with the Small Business Administration. The government requests that no proprietary or confidential business data be submitted in a response to this notice. However, responses that indicate the information therein is proprietary will be properly safeguarded for Government use only. Capability statements must include the name and telephone number of a point of contact having authority and knowledge to discuss responses with Government representatives. Capability statements in response to this market survey that do not provide sufficient information for evaluation will be considered non-responsive. When submitting this information, please reference the solicitation notice number. All capability statements sent in response to this Sources Sought Notice must be submitted electronically (via email) to Farrin Stanton, Contract Specialist, at Farrin.Stanton@nih.gov in MS Word format by or before the closing date of this announcement. All responses must be received by the specified due date and time in order to be considered. The response must be received on or before August 25, 2016 11:00am, eastern time. CONCLUDING STATEMENTS Note: This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in the response. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After review of the responses received, pre-solicitation and solicitation notices may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. The solicitation release date is pending. The Government intends to negotiate a fixed-price purchase order. Confidentiality. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/NIH/NIDA-2/HHS-NIH-NIDA-SSSA-SBSS-16-707/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: 31 Center Drive, Bethesda, Maryland, 20879, United States
- Zip Code: 20879
- Zip Code: 20879
- Record
- SN04227545-W 20160819/160817234541-7abfd770960530f8a6a976a927a6543c (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |